Who Is Flex Wheeler? The Uncrowned Mr. Olympia Legend Who Endured 40+ Surgeries

Flex Wheeler is regarded as one of the best bodybuilders of the golden era, and even current fans of bodybuilding, consider his physique to be one of the most flawless physiques in the industry. The Californian was a pro bodybuilder in the 90s and during his prime, he won the Arnold Classic four times. He was also the only bodybuilding champion who could do splits on stage and give along with an amazingly muscular physique.

He smiled and performed his million-dollar moves despite going through kidney disease. He is now retired, and throughout his life, he has gone through more than 40+ surgeries. Even then Wheeler has continued to be an inspiration in the bodybuilding world.

Flex Wheeler’s start to bodybuilding

Wheeler’s life was full of hardships from the very first day that he was born. Born a premature baby to a single mother in Fresno, California, he grew up in a financially unstable household. And that led to a lot of mental health issues. He, however, soon found solace in sports and also realized that he was good at athletics.

Wheeler started to do martial arts, which ultimately led him to bodybuilding to increase his core strength. He had no intentions of becoming a bodybuilding champion and had started his career as a police officer. 

Read More:  “Can’t Really Relate to the Sport”: Bodybuilding Legend Flex Wheeler Didn’t Want to Return Back After Retirement, Revealed in 2016

Wheeler competed for the first time in 1983, however, it was not until 1989 that he secured his first win in NCP Mr. California. He finally decided to go fully professional and his career continued till the 2000s. Wheeler was also placed second in Mr. Olympia in 1993. He won numerous titles such as being a 5-time Ironman Pro winner and, 4-time Arnold Classic winner, and has won the France Grand Prix, South Beach Pro Invitational, Night of Champions, and Hungarian Grand Prix. However, he also had a setback when he could not participate in Mr Olympia.

The car accident which almost cost him his life and a carjacking 

In 1994 Wheeler had a car accident that almost cost him his life. Fortunately, lady luck was in favor and he was saved from any severe injuries. It seemed Wheeler’s bad omen with cars would continue later in his career. In a different incident in 1997, due to a carjacking, he missed his chance to participate in Mr. Olympia, which led him into a depressive episode. Flex Wheeler, however, was not someone who would give up easily, as he overcame increasingly testing adversities including a kidney disease.

Kidney disease

In 1999, battling another bout of depression, Wheeler found out he had Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis he still did not stop competing. According to Great Physiques, he said, “They told me that I had the most aggressive kidney disease known to man and there was no cure. They also told me my life was hanging in the balance and I would need a kidney transplant.”

Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis is a scar tissue in the filtering area of the kidney. This can cause problems in filtering out toxins from the kidney. Wheeler had revealed that the condition was hereditary. 

He even spoke to Vlad Yudin in 2016 During the interview, Vlad asked Wheeler about the possible comeback, “that you (Flex) wanted to make a comeback?”. Flex joked it off and said, “God’s truth is, you know, I, I don’t.” He then said, “I can’t even really relate to the sport anymore because it’s changed so much.”

“I’ve been through jeez, probably over 40 surgeries, you know, trying to save my life because of my rare kidney disease,” said, the Arnold classic winner. He was satisfied with his career and even received a Hall of Fame after retirement. He knows that his legacy is going to live on for a long time with his contribution to bodybuilding and martial arts.

Martial Arts and his amazing contribution to bodybuilding

When he was young, he went through a lot of mental hardships. His friends also told him that he was not easy to handle. Flex confessed, “they wouldn’t tell me back then because I was a different type of uh beast back then, but they tell me now – ‘man you know Flex and you were hard to deal with man. You were hard to be around with back in the days.”

This is when martial arts had helped him with his issues, and that ultimately led him to bodybuilding.

Now he stands as a legend and a Hall of Famer, who inspires younger fans of fitness and bodybuilding in the modern era.